


Once Upon A Team

by BlueSkyFirefly



Category: Football RPF, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 08:14:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15529965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueSkyFirefly/pseuds/BlueSkyFirefly
Summary: Croatia NT/Once Upon A Time crossover. Regina and Zelena find that Dr. Facilier has cast a curse - and he and some other old friends are now living as Croatian footballers.





	Once Upon A Team

“God dammit,” sighed Regina, looking around at her surroundings with a whole new understanding. She glanced over at her sister, who sat with her head in her hands, grasping at her curly red hair.

“I can’t believe he made us bar owners. We’ve done that, in Hyperion Heights. Something new would have been nice.”

Zelena finally looked up at her sister. “Facilier doesn’t _do_ nice,” she snarled.

Regina opened her mouth to object, but sighed in defeat, knowing that this time her old flame’s actions were indefensible.

“Fair point,” she nodded reluctantly. “So how do we find the others? It’s gonna be a hell of a lot harder this time. We don’t even know if we’re all here… in Russia. _Russia_. Did he just throw a dart at a map when he decided where to send us? I don’t even know where to start-“

She didn’t have much time to contemplate it before she was interrupted by a man approaching the bar. “I hate to interrupt whatever’s going on here, but the game’s starting soon,” he said, gesturing towards the television screen in the corner of the bar.

Regina and Zelena turned to look at him. “ _The World Cup_. Turn on the damn TV.”

“Oh, of course. Sorry,” said Regina, shaking her head in an attempt to dissipate some of the confusion swirling around inside it. She took the remote control from under the bar and pressed the button to turn on the screen before turning back to her sister.

“So, as I was saying. We need to-“ she stopped as she saw Zelena’s jaw drop open in shock.

“There he is,” she gasped, pointing at the screen. “Facilier. He’s… he’s on the bloody television!”

Regina spun around and found that he was in fact looking back at her from the screen.

“What the…” she breathed. “Hey!”

The man who had asked for the television to be turned on turned to face her. “Yes?” he asked, his voice flat.

“Who is that?” the two sisters asked in unison, pointing at the screen.

The man glanced up. “Oh, that guy? That’s Lovren. Dejan Lovren. One of the best on the team – but not as good as – wait a second  - _him_. He’s the best.”

They looked back at the screen to see another familiar face. He, like Facilier – or “Lovren”, apparently – was wearing the official kit of the Croatian national football team, and had a hand over his heart, singing the Croatian national anthem. But the wavy locks of hair, delicate facial features and slender frame were unmistakable. “Rumple,” they gasped, looking at each other in disbelief.

“What?” chuckled the man. “No, Modric. Luka Modric. Now will you two please let me watch the game?”

“Not a problem,” smiled Regina, grabbing her jacket from underneath the bar. Leaving the bar in the care of a barmaid, she took Zelena by the hand and headed to the car.

“We know where the stadium is, we’ll head there. We can get there within the hour, then we find out which hotel they’re staying in and wait for Facilier and Rumple.”

“Luka and Dejan,” corrected Zelena with a laugh.

“ _Facilier and Rumple_ ,” sighed Regina as she started the car and drove off.

Finding the hotel was easier than they thought. They knew as soon as they passed it, by the gaggle of young women waiting outside and a few badly hidden photographers.

They pulled up and waited in silence, neither one sure what to say, both knowing that if they overthought this it would end in turning the car around and heading back to the bar.

After what simultaneously seemed like a second and an eternity, a bus arrived. “It’s them,” said Regina, and they left the car and headed into the lobby to wait. Almost immediately after they entered, the footballers followed, laughing, joking and singing a song neither woman understood.

Then it happened. What they were waiting for. The tall, dark haired man with the brooding brown eyes strolled through the door, flanked by the Dark One, or as he was called in this world, the Captain, and, to their shock, the one _they_ knew as Captain. Even with both hands and no guyliner, they recognised the rugged charm of Captain Hook immediately.

“Seriously?” hissed Zelena. “Hook too?!”

At that moment, Facilier’s eyes scanned the room and caught Regina’s. He walked over slowly, seemingly unbothered, although Regina knew him well enough to know he was probably just putting on a brave face. His small, tousle haired friend followed him closely, and Regina breathed a sigh of relief. He was awake, of course he was, Rumple was always awake.

“Rumple, thank God!” she cried, holding out her arms to the Dark One. Her heart sank as his brow furrowed in confusion. He’d faked it before, but this time she knew it was real. He was clueless.

“I’m sorry, what?” he asked with a confused smile.

“Rumplestiltskin?” she smiled, in a last attempt to jog his memory.

“Is that supposed to be a joke about my height?” he asked, clutching his hands over his chest in mock distress. “It’s original, I’ll give you that.” He laughed, the giggle that would identify him anywhere in the world, except, apparently, to himself. “Never heard that one before, dearie. You have a nice evening.”

With that, he turned and left, leaving the women alone with Facilier.

“Dejan Lovren,” he grinned, offering his hand for a handshake. “ _Enchantee._ ”

“Oh, save it, Facilier,” snapped Zelena, pushing his hand away.

“Is there a problem here?” asks a deep, husky voice behind him. All three turn their eyes to the owner of the voice. Even in this realm, as a world class footballer, he was unmistakably a pirate, to the point that the sisters found themselves wondering how no one had noticed.

“Hoo- I mean uh, who’s this?” asked Regina. Facilier grinned, mouthing the words “nice save”.

“This is my friend and teammate, Šime Vrsaljko.”

Killian – _Šime_ – smiled, the same disarming, devilish grin they’d come to know in what seemed like, and technically was, another lifetime. “Zelena,” smiled the red haired witch, shaking his hand. “And this is my sister Regina.”

“Regina is an old friend,” smiled the sorcerer in the shirt that read Lovren. _At least he’s honest about something_ , the sisters thought to themselves.

“I see,” smirked the pirate. “In that case, I’ll leave you to catch up. Dejo, don’t be too long. I can’t promise to save you any rakija.”

Once he was out of earshot, Regina turned to glare at Facilier. “Since when did he swap rum for rakija? He calls you Dejo? And talking of names-“

Facilier let out a loud chuckle. “He – Hook - could never pronounce my name. Facilier, that is. Even Baron Samedi seemed to give him some trouble. So I turned the tables on him. You should hear the English commentators trying to get to grips with _Šime_ Vrsaljko.”

Regina shook her head, fighting to keep the smile off her face.

“That’s literally the pettiest thing you’ve ever done,” she snarked, and he replied only with a wink.

“It really has been lovely to catch up with you two, but you heard the old sea dog. There’s only so much rakija. I have a feeling I’ll see you in the morning anyway. Goodnight, ladies,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

He walked off towards the corridor the rest of the team had disappeared down just minutes earlier, and the moment he was out of the sight of the receptionist he winked at them one last time and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

Zelena gasped, grasping her sister’s arm. “He has magic. You know what that means, right? The powder will work… we can wake them up.”

Regina yawned, then nodded half-heartedly. “We can’t burst into their party and break a damn curse, Z. Let’s just get a room for the night, and think about this tomorrow.”

However, when they approached the reception desk, the receptionist shook her head. “Sorry,” she shrugged. “No rooms left. We’re in high demand.”

Zelena sighed impatiently and walked back to the car, Regina following behind. “We could drive back, or we could just sleep in the car for tonight,” she said. “I’m not sure which sounds worse.”

“Driving sounds worse,” yawned Regina. “I’ll fall asleep, and you are a hazard behind the wheel. Looks like we’re camping in the car.”

They were rudely awoken the next morning by an abrupt banging on the car window. Both women sat up straight, looking around in momentary confusion before locking eyes with the culprit. Standing outside the car in a black T-shirt and jeans – _jeans_ , thought Regina, _who knew he wasn’t allergic to anything that wasn’t a suit?!_ -  was Dr. Facilier.

“Facilier, for heaven’s sake!” whined Zelena as she rolled down the car window.

“It’s Dejan,” he corrected with a sly grin.

“Whatever you’re called, could you try not hammering on the window at 6:30am?!”

Facilier – _Dejan_ – laughed out loud. “My deepest apologies. I decided to go for a walk and spotted the car, and I couldn’t resist coming to say hello.”

“What a shame,” said Zelena brusquely, but Regina smiled at him, already feeling herself warming to him again. It was those eyes. Darkest brown, full of mystery and fire. Zelena dug her in the ribs and she realised she’d been lost in them for a second too long.

“Ladies,” he smiled. “Since it looks like I’m not getting rid of you any time soon, how about you come and watch some old friends get into the World Cup final? Zelena, we’re playing England! My commiserations in advance.”

Zelena rolled her eyes. “Even if we wanted to – and trust me we don’t – they don’t just let anyone in.”

Dejan smirked. “They do with these,” he said, and with a flick of the wrist two tickets appeared in his hand. He handed them to her, and before she could object, he was gone.

After some deliberation and a few arguments, Regina and Zelena decided to go to the game. They drove home to shower and get changed, then headed back to the stadium, where they found that the tickets they’d been given were VIP tickets. They were shown to the front of the stands, feet away from the wives of the players. “Belle?!” gasped Regina, but stopped herself before trying to get her attention. _For one thing, she won’t even be called Belle_ , she reasoned with herself.

As they watched the game, they both found themselves captivated by the performances of their old friends, in particular, how clearly they showed the traits the sisters knew and loved. Hook, as Vrsaljko, was clever and cunning, outfoxing the English players, while Rumple, even on a football field wearing a shirt calling him Modrić, was textbook Rumplestiltskin, moving theatrically and impossibly quickly.

By the end of the game, even Zelena found herself cheering as they claimed victory over her countrymen. They watched as the man now known as Luka Modrić threw himself into the arms of his teammates before running to the stand to kiss his wife. “He found Belle,” was all Regina could say, smiling widely with tears in her eyes.

Zelena scoffed. “Of course he did. They appear to have a few more kids in this realm too, so obviously it’s going well. Now shall we get out of here back to the hotel and wait for him, so we can figure out what we’re going to do here?”

Regina nodded, and they got up to leave. However, as they walked out of the door, both women were hit by a dizzying feeling, as if they were falling, and when they regained composure they found themselves in what looked like a changing room.

“What the bloody hell just happened?!” cried Zelena, and she was answered by a plume of purple smoke swirling in the corner. “Dejan,” she sighed, and he walked out of the purple as it dissolved into the air behind him.

“Indeed,” he grinned. “And you got my name right, finally. You’re getting good at this. What did you think of the game?”

Regina stepped forward and pulled him into a tight hug. “You played brilliantly. You all did. Well done.”

Zelena clapped slowly. “Yes, yes. Great game. What’s not so great is you cursing everyone just so you can play in the bloody World Cup.”

Dejan laughed. “That wasn’t – no, that was just a happy coincidence. I just wanted Rumple’s dagger, and the best way for me to do that was to curse him and make him forget the damn thing altogether. I made a few concessions – I’m sure you saw Belle in the stands – and it got a bit mixed up, Emma is a kid, and living as their daughter now. Timelines are tricky, but it worked out well. They’re happy.”

The witch rolled her eyes. “Oh, you’re all heart. So, did you get the dagger?”

Dejan sat down on a bench, resting his head in his hands. “No. It got lost in translation, I guess. It’s not in this realm. And with Rumple here, I don’t know who has it. That’s why I need you two to go back.”

“That was the plan,” snapped Regina. “But we’re not leaving without Hook and Rumple.”

Just at that, the door swung open, revealing a tired but ecstatic looking former Dark One. “Lukita,” smiled Dejan, trying to figure out an excuse for being in the wrong changing room, but Luka’s eyes didn’t leave the two women.

“You two again? Weren’t you the ones who called me Gollum or something?!”

“It was – it was Rumplestiltskin,” stammered Zelena. “Oh, you know what? I’ve had enough of this.”

She opened the locket around her neck, pouring the powder inside it into her hand. Before Luka had a chance to run or protest, she blew it directly into his face, making him stumble.

He braced himself against the wall, taking deep breaths, then looked up at the three anxious faces in front of him.

“Rumple?” asked Regina hesitantly.

“Hello, dearie,” he said with a slight smile. “Oh, the fans calling me a wizard is _so_ much better now!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the irony, dearie, but you have to come back with us,” explained Zelena. “I have a magic bean, it’ll get us back to Storybrooke.”

Rumple’s face fell. He was silent for a few seconds, then… “no.”

“No?” repeated Zelena in disbelief.

“No,” he reiterated, more firmly this time. “Rumplestiltskin is a monster. It doesn’t matter what I do, I’ll always be a villain to some people. Luka Modrić, to most people, is a hero. Not in the fairytale sense, but he’s… I’m… a national hero. I make people happy, and proud of their country. Whatever Samedi did gave us both a whole existence – the manager of a club in England thinks he plays for them and he’s just been on the TV saying he’s one of the best defenders in the world. And as for me, well, Luka… some people are calling me the greatest of all time. Do you know how that feels after hundreds of years of being a crocodile, a monster, a coward? Plus, I have Vanja here.”

“Vanja?” asked Regina with a raised eyebrow.

“Belle. You know her as Belle. But I’ve come to know her as Vanja, and we’re happier than ever. I’m not coming home with you. I don’t know how I’m going to do this now I know… now I know I’m me… but I’ll figure it out.”

“I can help with that,” came a voice from the bench. They all turned to face Dejan, and he held out a small bottle.

“You – Rumple – left some of this in Storybrooke, and I brought it along just in case. It’s your memory potion. Drink this after they leave, and you’ll forget any of that ever happened. You’ll be Luka Modrić, and know no different.”

Rumple closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry, Regina. Zelena. I really am. But this is what I want.”

A single tear rolled down Regina’s cheek. “I’ll miss you, Gold,” she said, enveloping him in one last tight hug. When she finally let him go, Zelena took her place, holding him tight.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I will too. But you go out there, and live up to your name. Win that gold.”

He smiled back at them, then turned to Dejan. “Let’s see that bottle then, dearie!” he grinned, and Dejan smiled as he handed it over.

As the two sisters walked out the door, they glanced back to see Facilier take the half empty bottle and drink the rest himself.

“Did he just-“ gasped Zelena, and Regina nodded.

“I guess Gold’s – Luka’s – speech got to him. Lovren is here to stay.”

They turned a corner into an empty corridor, and Zelena fished a small, glowing bean from her pocket. Thinking of Storybrooke, she threw the bean on the floor, and it erupted into a glowing light.

Suddenly, they heard a voice they knew all too well, just around the corner: Captain Hook, or as he was now known, Šime Vrsaljko. “Dejo, Lukica! There you are! I’ve been looking all over! Alexa, play _Marica_!”

Before Regina could begin to comprehend or even wonder what that meant, Zelena grabbed her hand and pulled her into the light, the opening bars of the song they’d heard on the pitch fading as the portal closed behind them.


End file.
